Don't make bowfishing a stab in the dark

Summer is an in between season for some of us, with some fishing in between our hunting. One summer time pursuit available in the Poconos can scratch the itch of the hunter turned angler. Hunting fish with a bow and arrow, or bowfishing, has been around for a long time, but is recently gaining popularity as outdoor enthusiasts are discovering, or re-discovering, the fun, excitement and challenges that it offers.

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poconorecord.com

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Posted Jul. 9, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Posted Jul. 9, 2013 at 12:01 AM

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Summer is an in between season for some of us, with some fishing in between our hunting. One summer time pursuit available in the Poconos can scratch the itch of the hunter turned angler. Hunting fish with a bow and arrow, or bowfishing, has been around for a long time, but is recently gaining popularity as outdoor enthusiasts are discovering, or re-discovering, the fun, excitement and challenges that it offers.

It is legal to bowfish in Pennsylvania, provided you are not in an approved trout water and hunt only catfish, carp or suckers and that you possess a valid fishing license. So at least we have several warm water species we can target, and the good news is that our region has plenty of good places to try for these.

The gear required for bowfishing is a little different than that with which you might hunt whitetails, but not by much. One can use a recurve bow or compound for bowfishing. I took one of my regular hunting compounds off the rack and made a few modifications. The arrow used for bowfishing is a heavy, fiberglass shaft with a barbed point on the end. As such, your standard arrow holder or rest is likely not substantial enough to support the heavier shaft especially during launch time.

I purchased a simple brass roller arrow holder. It screws to the bow in a standard fitting and works much better for support and release.

The arrow will have a means of attaching to a line and a reel to allow recovery of the arrow one shot, and any fish you might have scored on. Most arrows have a slide on them that allows a smooth release and subsequent flight without entangling the shaft in the line.

Any encumbrance that the string receives during the launch flight will result in a muffed shot. The best bowfishing reel I have used is the one that winds the line into a plastic bottle via a crank handle. The rig allows missed shots to be retrieved quickly. The best feature however is that the line peels out of this thing with zero resistance.

When shooting into water, you must aim below the fish, as refraction caused by the water will make the fish appear to be in a different plane. If you use a pin sight, you will want to adjust it to compensate and allow you to hold dead on.

One must consider the depth of water and type of bottom structure when shooting at fish. In the Delaware River if carp are in the shallows, you may find yourself smashing arrows off the rocks and damaging gear. In Prompton Lake in Wayne County however, you may find yourself tugging your arrows out of thick mud.

Many bow anglers choose to hunt for fish at night in the shallows. A good spotlight will light the fish up, providing for good shot placement. A headlamp helps tremendously.